Enjoy the festival experience at home

Want to bring an endless summer of music to the comfort of your home? Here’s our how-to guide…

Festival season is almost upon us. But if sliding around in the mud or putting up a tent in the dark doesn’t appeal, then why not bring the party to you?

Here’s how to experience the music euphoria from your own couch…

Master the BBC coverage

The Beeb does a great job of bringing live music from all the great festivals straight to your home. With coverage on TV, radio and online you can enjoy big-name presenters and all your favourite tunes whenever you like – whether it’s from the comfort of your sofa, while driving in your car or on your tablet.

Headline acts have already been confirmed for this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival. Fall Out Boy, Kendrick Lamar and Kings of Leon are just a few of the big names that will be onstage.

Choose a TV with headline picture quality

Headline slots at festivals are played from evening into night. So you’ll want a TV that can handle the rich colours of sunsetas well as the black night skyand flashing lights.

Samsung QLED TVs and LG OLED TVs offer excellent contrast – the difference between black and bright white. They also have 4K resolution – so even if the festivals aren’t broadcast in 4K these TVs will give the HD picture a serious upgrade.

QLEDs create impressive blacks too. But they’re more notable for their ability to create incredible levels of brightness – photo flashbulbs and strobes will look superb. Early evening sets with pink sunsets and colourful crowds will pop from the screen with 100% colour volume.

Big stages demand big screens

Big stages demand a big screen to do them justice – the question is how big?

If your living room is average sized a 46 to 55-inch TV will help you create a main stage atmosphere without dominating the room. Larger than average, then go bigger. A 65-inch set should do the trick.

Taking the party outside

Mud and rain are standard fayre for festival season. But on the rare occasion the sun is shining, you don’t want to be cooped up inside.

With a portable wireless speaker and the BBC iPlayer Radio app on your phone you can take the party outside.

Stream music wirelessly from your phone to a speaker like the UE Boom 2. Hook up more than one Boom 2 to create a bigger sound. And if the dreaded rain does arrive there’s no need to panic – the Ultimate Ears Boom 2 is waterproof too.